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Thursday, November 13, 2014

Why you Should Buy Indie eBooks and Avoid Traditional Publishers

Reading is making a comeback around the world due to new technology in a variety of ebook readers and apps for cell phones, tablets, and computers. Ebook sales are growing every day. People who would never have considered writing a book are giving it a shot, adding ever more choices to a crowded marketplace. Even authors from traditional publishing are fighting to provide the next ebook “bestseller”. Sadly, there are some readers, reviewers, and columnists who refuse to give Indie Authors a fair trial and continue to support traditional publishing as the only way to find a well-written book. Happily, there are innumerable readers who disagree and are not only buying books written by Indie Authors, but refuse to purchase books from traditional publishers any longer. Let’s explore why.

Traditionally published ebooks are expensive. Even though printing, shipping, storage, and buy-backs are no longer part of the cost, traditional publishers are charging premium prices for their ebooks. In our current economy, it is hard for a single mom, student, average employee, or senior citizen to pay from $9.99 to $19.99 for one ebook download – even one written by a famous author. For $19.99, a reader of Indie Authors can buy several ebooks in a variety of genres, and possibly find the next “NY bestseller” among them.

Another reason to avoid traditional publishers is they tend to follow the leader in choosing what to publish, regardless of what readers are buying or requesting. They have flooded the market with erotic thrillers, vampires, quests, tell-all memoirs, how-to this or that, and most recently non-fiction political ramblings. Based on expensive market analysis, of course, but their market must be in downtown New York or San Francisco, when it should be on Average Street. Indie Authors, on the other hand, live on Average Street in Small Town. They know what their neighbors, friends, and blog followers are reading. They spend hours online, studying what is selling versus what is not, they join groups and blogs and take classes to learn more, they research their topic, and then they spend hour upon hour writing. They are connected to real life, which brings emotion, depth of character, and the need to tell a story from deep inside. Then the serious ones pull money from their own pockets to pay for a book cover, edits, and formatting, or they find an Indie Publisher willing to accept their work.

Has it occurred to most readers who refuse to touch an Indie Author ebook that famous traditionally published authors had to start somewhere? Not all of them were perfect when they began, either. Surprisingly, they still aren’t perfect after all these years, and neither are the teams of editors, proofers, and formatters who work on their books. [Another surprise, the teams don't have nearly the members working on a book as when it went to print.] Chances are, yes, a reader will get a poorly written or unedited book from time to time when trying Indie Authors, but it’s also likely in a traditionally published ebook. And, which would you rather throw away, $3.99 or $19.99? Many Indie Authors now have beautiful ebook covers designed by talented artists, which are much more appealing than a multi-color background with a white text title, or a hatchet in a wall on a traditionally published cover. Indie Author covers also more closely describe the story than traditional publisher covers, particularly in Romance, Thrillers, and Suspense.

The most important reason to buy Indie Author ebooks is the majority of what readers spend actually goes to the author rather than to a publishing conglomerate. [Our Indie publishing company pays cover designers, editors, and formatters, and still pays the lion share of royalties to our authors. Traditional publishers have kept the majority of the money, and yet, some are struggling to remain in business and still others have gone under. Wonder why? Could it be lavish executive offices, huge exec salaries, and all those benefits?]

To select a well-written Indie Authored or Indie Published ebook, look at the cover to see if it is well designed. Read the description and check the front few pages. Read a sample if you have time. If any of this appears sloppy or contains spelling errors, move on to another book. But, maybe it will be neat, concise, and the cover, description, and first few pages will grab you and draw you into a story you would have otherwise missed – just because it is by an Indie Author.

Readers should be the ones to decide what is well-written, what books to avoid, and tell others through reviews and ratings. Free marketing should set ebook prices. Join those of us who are tired of being dictated to by a few large traditional publishers, snobbish reviewers, and uninformed columnists, and buy ebooks published by real people for real people – Indie Authors.